VOD: Deep Blue Sea 2 (dir: Darin Scott, 2018)

"This is bad.  This is really bad."

Nearly two decades on from the daftly enjoyable B-movie antics of the original (cinema) film, this pale, cheaply-mounted re-tread disappoints.  .  The single new plot development idea involving the shark attackers is mostly squandered through repetitive and limply-realised sequences, as the effects budget is clearly saved and employed for certain sequences.  Overall, this is a slow, thinly-drawn movie and the no-name cast offers little of interest.

VOD: Insidious - The Last Key (dir: Adam Robitel, 2018)

"I don't have memories from that place.  I have scars."

The core Blumhouse crew deliver the fourth Insidious film with all that the fans require: moments of audience attention misdirection, some cacophonous sound design, some effective creepy moments and of course some industrial strength jump scares (one very early one is very strong).  The ace up the sleeve of The Last Key is the total focus on Lin Shaye's character Elise, with an extremely well-delivered prologue of her childhood of abuse and burgeoning powers, and her subsequent return to the house many years later that forms most of the movie.  All of this provides the excellent Shaye with strong material, emotional context and a real chance to demonstrate her skills.  Although the film is mostly one of the more effective narratively in the series, it does have moments where it goes of the rails, particularly towards the end, but overall The Last Key ties in with the overall mythology effortlessly and is one of the stronger films in this moderate franchise.

FILM: Skyscraper (dir: Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2018)

"I thought that couldn't happen."

Of course it is easy to say that Skyscraper is a contemporary mash-up of The Towering Inferno and Die Hard - which it is - but this traditional disaster movie plays it surprisingly straight and with an enjoyably relentless pace.  The top-notch special effects are seamless and spectacular, creating a couple of genuine moments of tension and the inevitable stomach-churning vertigo-inducing camera moves, and whilst there is very little here that we have not seen before, it is delivered with  purpose and momentum which maintain interest.  This is probably Dwayne Johnson's better performance out of his recent run, and Neve Campbell is effective support as his wife who actually gets a couple of action sequences of her own.  As disposable big screen entertainment goes, this is well-made and acceptable but instantly forgettable.

FILM: Incredibles 2 3D (dir: Brad Bird, 2018)

"I'm perfectly fine."

From the start, the long-awaited Incredibles sequel demonstrates a real sense of control, storytelling and thought.  Yet another blunt meditation on family, parenthood, gender and relationships, this film sticks very closely to what made the first outing so beloved: effective characters, recognisable family situations and the superb retro stylings, the latter demonstrated in the gorgeous rich mise-en-scene which also demonstrates the development of CGI animation in the intervening years.  Action sequences are brisk and superbly executed, serving the story well, and the whole enterprise is underpinned by a delightful Michael Giacchino score.  Whilst less dazzling than the extraordinary Coco, Incredibles 2 is a warm, assured and very entertaining movie, and the accompanying short - Bao - is yet another winner.

FILM: Mamma Mia! - Here We Go Again (dir: Ol Parker, 2018)

"Moussaka."
"Bless you."

Interestingly, this decade-long-gestating sequel/prequel does deliver what you expect from the first film (though thankfully with only one brief moment of shrieking), but it is far from the sun-and-sex feel-good musical rom-com of the original - if the first movie was bonkers, this one is a little bizarre.  This film feels far more mature, worldly and grown up, with noticeably fewer songs and more drama/less comedy.  Critics have indeed picked up on the fact that most of the big hits have already been used, although Here We Go Again hoovers up most of the remaining singles (One Of Us hits the mark early in this sequel, for example), and there are a couple of necessary and inevitable repeats here with most of the first film's songs now reduced to instrumental cues, but the album tracks used are aptly chosen and sometimes surprising but work well.  The ABBA men have clearly become less precious about rewriting the lyrics, with some very obvious and at times strange changes - the beautiful I've Been Waiting For You gets a particularly clumsy re-direction about impending motherhood.  Lily James is effervescent as the young Donna and is very strong here, the younger versions of the three fathers are photogenic and amiable, and the returning cast members utterly reliable.  Cher turns up rather too late in the day and completely steals the film, and Meryl Streep is used sparingly but effectively - this film's equivalent to Slipping Through My Fingers is an unexpected choice (from the Arrival album) that is another real tear-jerker.  The inevitable Dancing Queen sequence recaptures the first movie's joyfulness, but Here We Go Again is not the consistent instant feel-good experience of the original, and therefore perhaps a little more interesting and unexpected. If you sit through the credits accompanied by an utterly demented instrumental medley of ABBA hits , there is a brief but funny out-take right at the very end.

FILM: The First Purge (dir: Gerard McMurray, 2018)

"The American Dream is dead."

This ludicrously profitable franchise took audiences by surprise with its upfront mix of politics and violence, but the time-jumping third movie also demonstrated the limitations of the concept.  Hence this fourth entry goes the prequel route, taking us back to the night of the first 'experiment' on Staten Island.  Like the night in question, the film proves to be a slow burner, and whilst it retains the popular elements of the previous entries, it does feel thinner, with the scenario and characters coming across as less developed and the action less intense (the influence of The Raid and John Wick is felt here).  James DeMonaco writes but does not direct this chapter, yet this should have been the movie that really went for the political arguments and the reactions of the regular people caught up in The Purge, but - unlike the unfortunate guy on the stone steps - it does not really catch fire.

VOD: The Limehouse Golem (dir: Juan Carlos Medina, 2017)

"The line between comedy and drama is a fine one."

...and the line between drama and melodrama proves to be very inconsistent in this handsomely-mounted but rather dreary Victorian murder-mystery.  The film is designed very carefully, with lots of period detail, big spaces and luridly-coloured and artfully-lit mise-en-scene.  Jane Goldman's script is reasonably solid if mechanical in its unfolding police investigation of a spate of  London murders, but the delivery of dialogue is mostly (consciously?) relentlessly flat.  The effort is to be admired, especially the way in which  everything is pulled together at the end, but the film does not entertain that much.

VOD: Alex Strangelove (dir: Craig Johnson, 2018)

"That's funny."

Netflix's answer to Love, Simon is a surprisingly funny coming-of-age tale as the eponymous hero plans to lose his virginity with his long-standing girlfriend on Prom Night but also falls for a gay guy at a party.  The movie is more grounded (to a fair extent) than the American Pie-style premise, the 80s-inflected soundtrack is pleasing, and for the most part the teenage characters actually speak and behave almost like real teenagers.  Daniel Doheny gives some good depth and pathos to Alex, but the scene-stealing performance to look out for is from Daniel Zolghadri as his best friend Dell.  Although the ending might be as predictable and corny as you can imagine, there are enough interesting speedbumps along the way to make this an unshowy and entertaining little movie.

FILM: Sicario 2 - Soldado (dir: Stefano Sollima, 2018)

"Whoever said crime doesn't pay wasn't stealing oil tankers, were they?"

This solid sequel, with its focus on Mexican gangs and human trafficking, again makes for strong and engaging viewing.  Characters are allowed to breathe and exist between the sharp punctuations of violence that drive the narrative, whilst the ethics of the US Government's covert manipulation of the situation makes for a morally and emotionally challenging experience.  Inevitably, Brolin and Del Toro eat up every moment of their screen time, but the film interestingly counterpoints their story with the involvement of two teenagers, a Mexican cartel leader's daughter and the rise through the ranks of an ordinary kid, both impressively played.  The narrative is effectively constructed, and although it might not have quite the same intensity as the first movie, Sicario 2 makes for powerful viewing.